Well things are building to our requirement to purchase a laptop of some description. We would benefit from something portable, more convenient for travel. As our customers require more or less constant assistance and guidance, we find ourselves entering into the ‘always on’mentality, and being away for a weekend is just not going to cut it when people have business needs which require satisfaction!
Now this would be an easy task for many, a look at the specifications, perhaps a recommendation, or maybe customer loyalty would all jump in here and then a device bought. However, our selection criteria vary slightly.
We would love to get something second hand, or refurbished rather than buying it directly, if this seems a reliable choice. We consider the companies environmental policies, social responsibilities, energy consumption and the various paths that each of those choices lead us down.
So today began with the idea of buying an Apple Mac, as they seem like a pretty innovative and hip kind of company, and a lot of the hip folk are boasting about their green credentials. So on the Apple website there is a great few pages that are well presented about how Apple wants the world to view them. Reading this I was pretty sold, they sound pretty awesome. While you pay a premium, we’d rather that, and get something greener, than go cheap. However, it is not all so crystal clear, as a check on the company on crocodyl.org pointed to quite a few violations that have occurred, and perhaps the Apple site is engaging in a certain amount of greenwash here.
Then another quick search led to a link to the British newspaper The Guardian, which in April 2011 wrote an article headlined Apple named ‘least green’ tech company, highlighting a Greenpeace report – Guide to Greener Electronics.
It feels that this is the tip of the iceberg, and it may be a while before we can find anything that satisfies our requirements.
We here hope that one day the choices that we make are based more on quality of product, rather than trying to minimise the devastation of our purchases, environmentally, and to the lives of people that are being exploited in our consumer driven demands.
What are your thoughts?